1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to access control list processing.
2. Related Art
In a computer network for transmitting information, messages can be restricted from being transmitted from selected source devices to selected destination devices. In known computer networks, this form of restriction is known as “access control” and is performed by routers, which route messages (in the form of individual packets of information) from source devices to destination devices. One known technique for access control is for each router to perform access control by reference to one or more ACLs (access control lists); the ACL describes which selected source devices are permitted (and which denied) to send packets to which selected destination devices.
In a known standard for ACL format, each ACL includes a plurality of access control specifiers, each of which selects a range of sender and destination IP address prefix or subnet, and port, and provides that packet transmission from that selected set of senders to that selected set of destinations is either specifically permitted or specifically denied. ACLs are associated with input interfaces and independently with output interfaces for each router. In known routers such as those manufactured by Cisco Systems, Inc., of San Jose, Calif., the router is provided with an ACL using an ACL command language, interpreted by operating system software for the router, such as the IOS operating system.
One problem in the known art is that processing of packets to enforce access control according to the ACL is processor-intensive and can therefore be relatively slow, particularly in comparison with desired rates of speed for routing packets. This problem is exacerbated when access control is enforced for packets using software in the router, because software processing of the ACL can be quite slow relative to hardware processing of the packet for routing.
One known solution is to reduce the number of packets for which access control requires actual access to the ACL. In a technique known as “netflow switching,” packets are identified as belonging to selected “flows,” and each packet in a flow is expected to have identical routing and access control characteristics. Therefore, access control only requires reference to the ACL for the first packet in a flow; subsequent packets in the same flow can have access control enforced identically to the first packet, by reference to a routing result cached by the router and used for the entire flow.
Netflow switching is further described in detail in the following patent applications:                U.S. application Ser. No. 08/581,134, titled “Method For Traffic Management, Traffic Prioritization, Access Control, and Packet Forwarding in a Datagram Computer Network”, filed Dec. 29, 1995, in the name of inventors David R. Cheriton and Andreas V. Bechtolsheim, assigned to Cisco Technology, Inc.;        U.S. application Ser. No. 08/655,429, titled “Network Flow Switching and Flow Data Export”, filed May 28, 1996, in the name of inventors Darren Kerr and Barry Bruins, and assigned to Cisco Technology, Inc.; and        U.S. application Ser. No. 08/771,438, titled “Network Flow Switching and Flow Data Export”, filed Dec. 20, 1996, in the name of inventors Darren Kerr and Barry Bruins, assigned to Cisco Technology, Inc.        
These patent applications are collectively referred to herein as the “Netflow Switching Disclosures”. Each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
While netflow switching achieves the goal of improving the speed of enforcing access control by the router, it still has the drawback that comparing at least some incoming packets against the ACL must be performed using software. Thus, the relative slowness required by software processing of the ACL is not completely avoided.